The English language is infinitely flexible, providing multiple synonyms for almost every word. While that is helpful in most situations, it can also contribute to some confusing and embarrassing slips of the […]
Weird things can happen when mistranslating words from one language to another. See these articles for some examples. The results can be hilarious, embarrassing, or disastrous. If you search for examples of […]
Many monuments have been inspired by the horrors of war. None is more significant than the graves of soldiers who were killed in combat. Battlefield burial sites stand as sober reminders of […]
The Publishers’ Circular of January 11, 1902, contained a brief article that triggered a renewed interest in the most-read English author and the best-selling book of all time. It triggered a debate […]
The Bible has been translated into over 3,000 languages (including Klingon, as is detailed in this post). The first Bible printed in North America was in one of those 3,000 languages — […]
E.I. Gordon translated ancient Sumerian cuneiform tablets that dated back to approximately 2500 B.C. Among that ancient writing was a riddle, which is believed to be the world’s oldest brain teaser. Can […]
Not only is the Bible the top-selling and most-shoplifted book in history, it also exists in the most languages. With the entire Bible existing in 670 languages, the New Testament in 1,521 […]
When Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell said the famous line, “Houston, we have a problem,” the words triggered alarm throughout NASA and around the world. If Apollo 13 had been manned by […]
Readers of Commonplace will not be surprised to learn that one little mistranslation from one language to another can be embarrassing. Whether it is one misplaced letter when cheering General Douglas MacArthur, an incompetent […]
A Spanish delegate to a diplomatic conference turned on his microphone and said, “Estoy constipado, perdónadme.” Ordinarily this would translate as, “Please excuse me; I have a cold.” The French interpreter, instead, translated his […]
When a fake sign language interpreter managed to get the job of interpreting during the funeral for Nelson Mandela, President Jimmy Carter must have had flashbacks to a time that his life was […]
In the early days of World War II, the Duke of Windsor (the former King Edward VIII), paid visits to French troops to help boost their morale. His flaccid grasp of the […]
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